Skip navigation
office residential conversion Jimj0will/Shutterstock

11 Must Reads for the CRE Industry Today (Sept. 15, 2022)

The Los Angeles Times profiles some recent office-to-apartment conversions. A railroad workers strike would bring major disruption to the U.S. supply chain, according to a Chain Store Age interview with an industry expert. These are among today’s must reads from around the commercial real estate industry.

  1. Goodbye, water cooler; hello, pool: More Los Angeles offices are becoming apartments “The former Texaco high-rise is part of a national push to convert aging office buildings to residential use as demand for housing surpasses the need for offices in many locations.” (Los Angeles Times)
  2. Meet the new Dollar General shopper who earns $100,000 a year “That doesn’t mean, however, that consumer behavior has been unchanged since the economy began to recover last year from lockdown. It turns out that more shoppers are now looking to save money. Last week, the CEO of discount store Dollar General said that the company is experiencing an influx of high income shoppers.” (Fortune)
  3. CSA Q&A: Railroad strike could shut down 30% of freight movement “As negotiations stall with railroad labor unions, Chain Store Age spoke with Spencer Shute, senior consultant at procurement and supply chain consultancy Proxima, about the impact a rail strike would have on the nation’s supply chain.” (Chain Store Age)
  4. Where are all the trophy office listings? “This September, however, investors have largely avoided putting their trophy properties up for sale, an acknowledgment of the difficulties in the investment sales market brought on by rising interest rates and an economic slowdown.” (The Real Deal)
  5. Rising rent prices are keeping inflation high “One of the biggest drivers of inflation has been higher rent prices. According to data from Zillow, the typical US monthly rent was $2,090 in August, up 12.3 percent from a year before. That is much higher than it was before the pandemic — in February 2020, the nation’s average rent was $1,660.” (Vox)
  6. Inflation Surprise Means More Pressure Ahead For Commercial Real Estate “Interest rates have a direct effect on the costs real estate owners pay to acquire or build new commercial properties. The Fed's actions so far have begun to cool lending markets, and more hikes could further reduce the number of loans banks hand out.” (Bisnow)
  7. Long-term Strategy Helps REIT Boards with CEO Succession Planning “Succession planning has moved more to the forefront for REIT boards in recent years, fueled by aging leadership and an increased focus on governance. The role of CEO is a difficult job in any organization and finding the right person to fill those shoes is equally as challenging.” (REIT Magazine)
  8. NY's attorney general is eyeing co-living companies as residents complain over 'scam' housing “The companies have been the subject of mounting complaints by tenants, which are now being eyed by New York’s top lawyer. New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office told Gothamist that companies like Bungalow, which began operating in New York City in 2018, are being ‘monitored.’” (Gothamist)
  9. Real Estate Firms Face Challenges, Opportunities in Digitizing Disbursements “Increasingly, there is a demand for real estate property operators to make the leap into digital payments. For years — decades, even — as Albert said, real estate operators have been paying their taxes, repair bills and all manner of expenses by check. That’s changing as real estate companies are using digital means, including virtual cards and digital wallets, to get the bills paid.” (PYMNTS.com)
  10. Adam Neumann Handing Over Part of Property Holdings to Fund Startup “By investing in Flow, Andreessen Horowitz also acquired stakes in the buildings. For a venture-capital firm to receive in effect a stake in thousands of apartments in return for an investment is very rare, in part because there are so few venture-funded firms that own real estate.” (The Wall Street Journal)
  11. Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso on Fixing the Housing Crisis “Despite the Beep’s largely advisory role in the land-use process, Reynoso has an ambitious plan to upend rezoning and development by creating a comprehensive plan for housing in Brooklyn. The effort would involve soliciting feedback from community boards, City Council members, and residents about where they would like to see new residential construction.” (Commercial Observer)
Hide comments

Comments

  • Allowed HTML tags: <em> <strong> <blockquote> <br> <p>

Plain text

  • No HTML tags allowed.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
Publish